Mannie Gentile: Combat Helmets of the 20th Century: 2021

Gum chewing will not be tolerated in Singapore.

For this post, I asked friends if they have ever been to Singapore, and to very briefly describe it. Here is a sampling:

- Regimented grid masquerading as a cosmopolitan island country
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  16h
Yes, it’s a beautiful city/state with repressive laws
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- 16h
‘73 aboard Higbee. Stunningly beautiful and unlike any other city we visited that cruise. A jewel.
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- 16h
Been there many times. Probably as close as you can get to visiting a British colony these days. Very strict. Nice people. Good food. The cabbies spy on you. Great aquarium. Where are the British surrendered without a fight.
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- 7h
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Yes, in 1997. Hot and expensive

My minimal research tells me that Singapore is very wealthy, very safe, very beautiful, and more than a little authoritarian with a certain distrust of democracy. It is also illegal to chew gum, parade nude in your own home, and gatherings of more than three people are prohibited. Seems like they would have more pressing things to worry about.

Singapore has a well-funded military, spending one of every four dollars on their armed forces, but with Red China at the front door, ample military spending may be pointless considering that the active-duty membership of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is around seventy five thousand troops and China is 2.19 million. Though to be accurate Singapore has mandatory conscription with reserve obligation to age 42. This means that Singapore would be able to field a little more than a million troops...provided that they have enough time to do it.

Nonetheless, small and well-funded, the SAF has some great gear, including this kevlar helmet from the 1990s.

The m.C1 is manufactured in South Korea for export to Singapore. Too tiny to have an industrial base, but wealthy enough to order out, Singapore gets most of its military materiel from abroad...and only the best.

By way of comparison, here's the SAF helmet on the left and the first-generation US kevlar PASGT helmet on the right.

The shells and the screw placement are identical, the only visible differences are the finish...

and the manner of fastening the chinstrap bails - screws on the American, and rivets on the SAF.

Compared to a US airborne kevlar, one sees that the m.C1 also has the foam jump-pad in the rear. This, and the three-point chinstrap makes me think that the SAFis airborne as well.

The helmet was adopted by the SAF in 1989.

The US introduced the Kevlar helmet in 1982, so, though not an early adopter, Singapore did get with the ballistic-fiber program in a timely fashion.

The factory-finish woodland pattern adds to the effectiveness of the helmet for the soldier, as well as the attractiveness of this helmet to my collection.